Above-ground inflatable structures/enclosures for sheltering humans and or the contents of such structure and which utilize inflatable supporting beams supporting a flexible skin or sheeting, are generally known.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 9,267,765 teaches one such structure/enclosure which has inflatable supporting beams, which are inflated with air. The structure/enclosure, due to the resilient flexibility of the inflatable beams, produces a structure/enclosure that is specially adapted for an environment such as a war zone, where the structure/enclosure need be resiliently flexible and not totally rigid to thereby better withstand blast waves emanating from ordinance exploding nearby. Vertical flexible tethermasts assist in securing and tethering the inflatable beams. Such tethermasts may be secured together by horizontal support members. An external fly may further be provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,544 teaches an air-inflatable frame(s) which provide a structure for supporting an external sheeting, to thereby provide inter alia a supported tent structure. The inflatable frames are provided with restraint members which prevent full extension of the inflatable air beams upon inflation thereof, and serve to cause the inflatable frame to assume a desired predefined polygonal shape of the tent.
EP 0494053 teaches an above-ground semi-cylindrical shed or hanger, such as for sheltering an aircraft during maintenance thereon, such hanger having a plurality of supporting arches consisting of inflatable tubular members. Wind bracing elements, in the form of guy wires 15, 17, are disposed on the outside of the arches. A covering sheet is disposed above the supporting structure formed by the plurality of parallel juxtaposed supporting arches.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,101 teaches, in one embodiment thereof (FIG. 1) an igloo-type enclosure having inflatable tubular wall elements 32 of progressively varying radii to provide a hemispherical or dome-like roof. A floor section 20 is provided, with stakes 21 for securing the floor section to the ground. The roof is supported by a pair upright poles 26, having a cord 27 extending therebetween and secured at 26 to the crown of the hemispherical roof to provide support and suspend the roof therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,112 to a Home Greenhouse Kit teaches a greenhouse having a semi-circular housing formed by two layers of flexible sheeting and a plurality of elongated parallel rib channels having inflatable tubes therein which are situated between the two layers. A floor portion forms a base and is connected to the housing portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,767 to a Chemical, Biological Explosive Containment System teaches a plurality of inflatable air beams having a truncated hexagonal pyramid shape, which may be placed over a bomb, IED, or other explosive device which need be detonated so as to neutralize it. A bomb containment blanket 20 is arranged parabolically within the air beam suspension support structure in a tent-like fashion. The containment blanket 20 is attached to the inflatable support structure with a rope or cord. The bomb containment blanket 20 further possess an access portal 21 to allow hazard mitigation foams to be delivered inside the explosion containment/hazard mitigation region 12 within the bomb containment blanket.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,991,104 to a “Method and Apparatus for Distributing a Load about an Air Beam” teaches an air beam supported structure/enclosure, further teaching an air beam sling or hug strap for distributing loads to/from the individual air beams.
Also teaching ways and means for distributing loads to and from air beams, U.S. Pat. No. 7,176,876 teaches an alternative means of coupling to an air beam, using permanently-affixed laceloops, to allow application/distribution of loads thereto.
In addition, it is known to construct, on a seabed floor, a subsea structure of rigid materials surrounding a compromised structure such as a leaking oilwell or pipeline, to collect oil leaking from such structure and by means of tubing pump such collected oil to surface.
The above background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information, or the reference in the drawings to “prior art” constitutes prior art citable against the present invention.
Disadvantageously, however, as regards the aforementioned undersea structures of rigid materials and construction, due to their rigid and non-deformable nature such are frequently destroyed and/or their containment capacity seriously compromised when they are exposed to transitory but severe undersea pressure waves caused by, typically, undersea earthquakes.
As regards the aforementioned inflatable air beam structures, none of the above art teaches, alone or in combination, in the manner more fully particularized herein, a resiliently deformable structure having a central hub at an apex or crown of such structure and a plurality of elongate inflatable beam members extending radially outwardly and downwardly therefrom, which beam members overly or underly a textile sheet member to thereby support such sheet member in the form an enclosure. Specifically, none of the aforementioned prior art teach or suggest a structure is particularly suitable for use undersea in collecting and recovering leaking fluids from a compromised undersea vessel or structure and further capable of withstanding transitory but nonetheless large pressure forces which may occur in areas of the ocean where, for example, there are large undersea currents and/or large pressure waves generated for example by undersea earthquakes.
Nor do any of such prior art structures suggest the affixing of a riser to a central hub mounted on the crown or apex of the resiliently flexible structure, to allow withdrawing of fluid collected from within such enclosure to be pumped to surface and thus recovered.
Nor for that matter does the prior art suggest or teach a method of being able to deploy a structure subsea which is capable of collecting and recovering leaking fluids to surface, yet still being able to withstand large transitory pressure waves which may be present.